Tuesday, August 31, 2010

My Mother in State Census at 6 Weeks Old

It’s funny how our brains work. I had gathered the information for my mother’s parents and siblings from my uncle so I’ve never looked at the Kansas State Census image where they are listed for the year 1925 when my mother was born. Last night I came across it on Ancestry.com and took the time to read the Agricultural Schedule that was included.

Pictured above are my maternal grandparents Milo and Nannie (Becker) Flanders with their oldest daughter Ethel, who was born in 1908. In 1925 their family was complete with these members:

Ethel Viola, born 7 Jan 1908,

Cleo Eldon born 21 Jul 1912,

Infant son, born 28 June 1914, died 7 July, 1914,

Edna Pearl born 3 Dec 1916,

Albert Lavern born 24 Oct 1918,

William Mervin born 4 Sep 1921 and

my mother Ruby Nadine, born 17 Jan 1925.

In the 1925 Kansas State Census, she was listed as 6 weeks old and her oldest brother Cleo was listed as a female “Cles”, daughter! In the photo below you can see Cleo is a boy. He’s pictured at far left, with little baby brother Albert sitting on Ethel’s lap, and Pearl being held by my grandmother Nannie Flanders. If Albert was born in 1918, this picture must have been taken about 1917. I think the photo at the top must have been taken about 1910. My grandmother lost a lot of weight in the years between 1910 as the mother of one and 1917, as the mother of four.

In 1925 Milo and Nannie Flanders lived on a farm in Byron Township, Stafford County, Kansas. In the photo below, Milo Flanders is in the foreground with the horse. I wish I knew who else was in the picture.

The agriculture schedule gives us these statistics about their farming operations.

I found it quite interesting to read the details of their farm holdings precisely at the time of my mother’s birth. She was born January 17, 1925 and her oldest sister Ethel was married two months later, March 14, 1925. By looking at these pictures and reading the details about their farm size, I can get a better mental picture of the family than I can simply by reading names and dates on a Family Group Sheet. I’m grateful I took the time to explore the 1925 Kansas State Census and browse long enough to find the Agriculture Schedule.